Despite just recording a victory in his home state of Virginia, Amir Sadollah says the home court advantage that MMA fans might perceive Dan Hardy having in his native England for their UFC FUEL TV 5 matchup is not really a big deal.

“The away game part, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a factor, but it’s as much of a factor as you allow it to be,” Sadollah (6-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com Radio about his September fight against Hardy (24-10 MMA, 5-4 UFC) in Nottingham, England.

“It’s the same canvas at the end of the day. When you fight in the UFC, they are all essentially away games. Very rarely do you end up fighting in your own hometown.”

But Sadollah — who grew up in Richmond, Va., and is coming off a narrow split-decision win over Jorge Lopez at UFC on FUEL TV 3 in May in nearby Fairfax, Va., — admits there can be even more pressure from media and fans when you’re fighting at home.

“My last fight I was the hometown guy,” he said. “It’s as much pressure as you put on yourself. You can stress yourself out because you’re in a strange town. You can stress yourself out because you’re in your town.”

UFC on FUEL TV 5 takes place Sept. 29 at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England. The main card airs live on FUEL TV (Saturday afternoon in the U.S.) following prelims on Facebook.

The Las Vegas-based Sadollah, who has fought only once outside the U.S. (he defeated Peter Sobotta via decision at UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany), will be heading to Europe early to prepare for his fight. But he will be warming up in Holland, rather than England.

“It worked out well that I could go early and have a place to train,” said Sadollah, who trains with Marco van den Broek and Dutch kickboxers at Combat Sports Academy. “It’s like a second home to me.”

“The Ultimate Fighter 7″ winner credits his annual training trip to the Netherlands for improving his striking and aggression.

“I remember the first time I went to Holland,” Sadollah said. “Before the show and everything, I worked with this one guy and he just hit me so many times. I remember thinking we are just practicing, just drilling. The way they drill is just so violent. I’m getting hit and remember thinking this guy is just so mean. There is nothing to do but just fight back. I love that style. Those guys bring it out of you.”

Sadollah, who looks for his fourth victory in five fights, thinks the talkative Mohawk-sporting Hardy will bring out his best as well.

“When you first hear about a fight you have a general vibe of how you feel about the fight,” he said. “Judging the guy you are fighting, judging yourself and the skills of each other.

“I think I have the advantage skillset-wise anywhere it goes.”

But Sadollah is quick to point out that he has to be careful of Hardy’s dangerous left hook.

“I think he’s pretty solid all around,” Sadollah said. “He’s been working on his ground game recently. He looked really good against (Duane) Ludwig. He’s somebody who’s fought for a title. It’s a challenge, and I’m ready to take it.”

Sadollah said while he generally enters a match with a tentative game plan, he’s always ready for wherever a match could end up. He said he expects the same thing against Hardy, who prior to his knockout of Ludwig at UFC 146 had lost four in a row and was on the verge of being cut by the UFC.

“I never believe changing your style up for one particular fighter,” Sadollah said. “I don’t get too stuck to the game plan because they inevitably don’t happen the way you think it’s going to happen.”

The Brooklyn-born, Iranian and Irish-bred Sadollah said he looking forward to his trip to Europe and is chalking it up as another learning point on his ultimate MMA journey.

“My advice to any other fighter would be to travel as much as you can,” he said. “Learn as much as you can. The more experience you have to gain from the better. Knowledge is power.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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